Jackson home finale ends in thrilling loss

In the final moment of Jackson's home finale, the Indians had three seconds to get a basket and defeat Webster Groves.

The Indians drew up a play that seemed meant for the gridiron.

Blayne Harris and Kaed Winborne lined up midcourt like they were about to run a route. Steven Schneider chucked the basketball from the baseline to the top of the key as if he was the quarterback. Clayton Ernst leaps up to catch the pass among a sea of hands as if he was in the end zone during a Hail Mary play.

As soon as his feet returned to the surface, Ernst quickly shifts the ball to Winborne to take the final shot. The senior already hit two shots from the three-point line in the fourth quarter to help fuel the Indians' fourth-quarter comeback. All the team needs is one more from him.

The trajectory suggested victory, but the ball bounced off the rim of the basket, and the game ends in a 52-51 loss on Tuesday in Jackson.

"We practiced it every day," Jackson head coach Kory Thoma said. "It's the second time we had to use it this year and we got good looks both times so I'm super impressed with how the boys executed it. It went in, came out, it happens."

The Indians finished the regular season 17-9 in Thoma's first season as head coach. The last time Jackson won that many games was in 2019 when the Indians finished 18-11 and won a district title.

“They worked their tails off,“ Thoma said. “Everything I've asked for, they've shown up and led the way. Losing this game tonight means absolutely nothing. It's a tally in the last column.”

The Indians had a lead late with seven seconds remaining. Iziah Purvey put up an inside shot and got the go-ahead basket for Webster Groves. He finished the game with a game-high 22 points for the Statesmen.

"[Purvey] is really good,” Thoma said. “He knocked down big shots. Kudos to him because he's a talented player. We didn't have any answer for him and, they got the momentum going in their direction.”

Harris led the Indians with 17 points, followed by 12 points from Judd Thoma. Windborne and Schneider scored eight points and Ernst chipped in six to round out the scoring for the Indians.

Jackson went into halftime with a 25-22 lead but scored only four points in the third quarter to fall to a 37-29 deficit entering the final period. Jackson rallied in the final period with 22 points thanks to three-pointers from Windborne and Harris.

The Indians travel to Kirkwood for the Class 6 District 1 Tournament on March 1, where they will take on Oakville. Jackson previously defeated the Tigers 63-47 on Feb. 3.

“We had a very tough game up in their place," Thoma said. "They're a very talented team, the coach, he's been around a long time. He knows what he's doing. They got tremendous shooters. We'll look to get going here next Wednesday.”